Are we building hiring tech that helps or harms people? In this episode, Tara Turk-Haynes (Equity Activations) and Jason Pistulka ( StratTech Talent Consulting and Advisory) join Johnny to explore human-first and equitable AI design. They share real stories of bias, misapplied automation, and inclusive innovation, plus how “assistive intelligence” and process auditing can make hiring more ethical, efficient, and empathetic.
Podcast Transcript
Podcast Transcript (Excerpt)
Hiring Excellence Podcast
This is a partial transcript from the episode.
Designing Technology With Humans in Mind
When we design technology, we need to be very mindful of who we are designing for—and just as importantly, who is not in the room when those decisions are made. That kind of awareness has to come from leadership that is thinking about technology as a way to enhance human work rather than replace it.
If you don’t take the time to truly understand where your client is and what problems they are actually experiencing, you don’t know what you’re solving for. And if you don’t understand the problem, you also don’t know whether you’ve solved it.
Introducing the Hiring Excellence Podcast
Johnny Campbell:
Welcome everyone to another episode of the Hiring Excellence Podcast. I’m Johnny Campbell, CEO and co-founder of SocialTalent, and your host for today.
Today we’re talking about equitable and human-first design, particularly around AI technologies. I’m joined by Tara Turkanes, founder of Equity Activations, and Jason Pistulka, founder of StratTech Consulting.
Jason is actually the inspiration for today’s topic, so I’m excited to dive into this conversation with both of you.
Jason Pistulka’s Background and Focus on TA Excellence
Jason Pistulka:
I’m joining from Nashville, Tennessee. I do consulting work for end users and advisory work for about ten different technology companies, all in the talent acquisition space.
I have more than 25 years of experience in HR, spanning financial services, technology, and healthcare, with the last 15 years focused heavily on recruiting. Today, my work centers on process optimization and operational excellence.
Many organizations try to achieve that through technology. Some do it well. Some do not. That’s what we’re here to talk about.
Tara Turkanes on Equity, Perspective, and People Strategy
Tara Turkanes:
I’m the founder of Equity Activations, a consulting firm that helps businesses embed equity into their people strategies—from talent acquisition through employee engagement and internal communications.
I’m a first-generation college graduate and corporate worker. My father worked on the line at Ford for 40 years, and my mother was an accounts payable clerk. When I entered the corporate world, I realized very quickly that people like me did not always have the best experience navigating it.
I care deeply about making sure people enter the workplace with a fair advantage. I don’t subscribe to the idea of “this is how we’ve always done it.” I also believe strongly in explaining things clearly, especially for those with less corporate exposure.
The Disconnect Between Vendors and Practitioners
Jason Pistulka:
One of the biggest issues I see with vendors is that they often come in with a solution before understanding the problem.
They don’t know where the client is in their maturity or readiness. Some organizations are already running very strong TA operations and need nuanced tools. Others are struggling end to end, and anything different would be an improvement.
If you don’t understand the problem you’re solving, you also don’t know how to measure success. When I do QBRs, I want to show: these were the problems, these were the metrics before, and these are the metrics after. Too many vendors don’t operate that way.
Candidate Experience and Perceptions of AI
Tara Turkanes:
One thing I try to stay grounded in is the candidate experience. What candidates are saying online is often very different from how companies talk about their AI tools.
I have a friend who’s currently job searching and said, “I think my resume is good because I haven’t gotten auto-rejected.” That tells you everything about how candidates perceive AI right now.
Candidates often see AI as a gatekeeper rather than a facilitator. In today’s economy, that’s the wrong message. AI tools don’t run themselves, and they don’t magically eliminate bias. They simply reflect the design decisions behind them.
AI, Automation, and Ethical Design in Hiring
Jason Pistulka:
A lot of what gets labeled as “AI” is really just automation. And automation, when designed thoughtfully, can actually make the process more human.
For example, we implemented salary knockout logic that allowed candidates to respond if they were willing to consider a lower salary. Automation captured that response and updated the ATS—without requiring recruiter intervention.
That’s a better experience for candidates and recruiters. It’s not about replacing people; it’s about eliminating low-value manual work.
When Technology Design Creates Inequity
A poor design example I’ve seen is using AI interviewers to ask basic knockout questions—age, licensure, background checks—after inviting candidates to an interview.
That gives candidates false hope and wastes time. The problem isn’t the AI interviewer itself; it’s the lack of thoughtful process design.
Good design should reduce friction, not create disappointment.
AI as a Tool for Greater Accessibility
Johnny Campbell:
There are also positive possibilities. For example, AI interviews that allow candidates to pause, take time, and respond without pressure could be incredibly helpful for neurodivergent candidates or those with anxiety.
That kind of flexibility could open the door to more equitable outcomes—if the tools are implemented with intention.
The Importance of Inclusive Design Processes
Tara Turkanes:
Technology itself isn’t the problem. It’s how people think about rolling it out.
We need to ask: who are we bringing along in this conversation? Candidates, employees, and marginalized groups often get left behind because assumptions are made about what they understand or how they interact with technology.
AI tools are only as ethical as the people using them.
Why Diverse Perspectives Improve Hiring Systems
True diversity isn’t just about demographics—it’s about perspectives. City versus rural backgrounds. College versus non-college paths. Different socioeconomic experiences.
When you design hiring processes with diverse voices involved, people will point out issues others miss—like scheduling interviews at times hourly workers can’t realistically attend, or requiring candidates to take PTO just to interview.
Walking in the Candidate’s Shoes
Jason Pistulka:
One of the most powerful exercises is simply experiencing your own process as a candidate.
I once worked with a team in India where candidates had to wait 20 minutes in a security line just to enter the building—but no one told them ahead of time. Candidates arrived late, stressed, and underperformed.
A simple automated message fixed the issue. That’s thoughtful design. And it only happens when teams actively walk in the candidate’s shoes.
Why Domain Expertise Matters in HR Technology
The best vendors leverage deep domain expertise. Even if the developers aren’t practitioners, someone on the team must understand the work deeply.
I hired a data professional at HCA who had never worked in recruiting. He spent days sitting with recruiters, learning exactly how actions translated into data. That curiosity made all the difference.
When systems are built for transactions instead of humans, they fail. That’s why so many ERP-based recruiting tools struggle—they were designed like accounting systems, not human systems.